Belvoir Property Clinic launches

We have introduced our monthly Property Clinic, which promises to answer many of the questions we get asked in the office.This month we look at tax changes for Landlords.

If you have a question for our monthly Belvoir Property Clinic, please send to info@belvoirandover.com

Q Can you explain the tax changes that have been introduced for buy-to-let landlords as I am about to file my tax return

A This is a question we have been asked a lot at Belvoir, and it’s not an altogether simple one to answer.

The tax changes only apply to individual landlords who let property in the UK, those who let in a partnership or Trustees of a trust directly holding UK residential property. The new tax rules won’t apply to companies or landlords of furnished holiday lets.

In short, the main change being made under the new tax rules, is that landlords will no longer be able to fully claim tax relief on their mortgage interest payments and related finance costs.

Previously, landlords have been able to deduct a number of allowable expenses along with mortgage and other finance expenses from their rental income and just pay tax on the difference. Now however, tax relief on finance costs will be restricted to the basic rate of Income Tax with the restrictions being phased in gradually from 6 April 2017 until fully in place from 6 April 2020.

You’ll still be able to deduct some of your finance costs when you work out your taxable property profits during the transitional period. These deductions will be gradually withdrawn and replaced with a basic rate relief tax reduction.

Tax year	Percentage of finance costs deductible from rental income	Percentage of basic rate tax reduction
2017/18	75%	25%
2018/19	50%	50%
2019/20	25%	75%
2020/21	0%	100%

We would advise you to take some professional advice regarding how this will affect you based on your particular personal circumstances. There is also more information on the full impact of the changes and case studies published by HMRC which can be accessed on www.gov.uk

Introducing Vicky Bowman

We are delighted to announce that Vicky Bowman has joined Belvoir as Lettings Manager. Vicky will head up our very successful lettings team and she brings a wealth of experience to the role; having been a Lettings Manager in Andover for over 14 years.

Vicky said 'I am delighted to join such a busy and well-regarded lettings agent and I am looking forward to meeting and working with the many landlords that rely on Belvoir to manage their properties'

Belvoir Andover Shortlisted For ESTAs Award 2016

Belvoir Andover has been shortlisted in the biggest awards for estate & letting agents in the UK, known throughout the industry as The ESTAS.

Belvoir Andover has been recognised for its outstanding customer service to its clients by the largest and longest running award scheme in the UK residential property industry.

The ESTAS sponsored by Zoopla determines the best estate & letting agents in the UK through research carried out amongst customers who are asked a series of questions about the service they have received from their agent.  This year saw record entries making the competition the toughest yet and one of the biggest surveys in the UK property industry with just over 30,000 customers completing one of the online questionnaires.

Estate and letting agents have been shortlisted in 22 regions around the UK.  The regional and national winners will be announced at the 13^th annual ESTAS ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 15^th April.  The awards will be presented by TV property expert Phil Spencer in front of 1,000 of the UK’s top property professionals, Spencer said “Any firm that enters The ESTAS has already sent a clear message that they are passionate about customer service so to make it on to the shortlist is a huge achievement in itself”.

Simon Brown, founder of the awards says “Its client feedback which determines who is shortlisted and ultimately who wins that makes The ESTAS so valuable.  We’ve introduced categories for conveyancers, mortgage brokers and developers so The ESTAS now recognises the best firms across the whole of residential property sector.”

Jon Notley, Chief Commercial Officer of headline sponsor Zoopla said, “This is our sixth year sponsoring The ESTAS and we are delighted to be once again supporting this key industry event. Customer feedback is essential to any organisation and it is fantastic to see the best in the industry being recognised for their efforts. Good luck to all those taking part and I look forward to meeting the winners on stage in April!”

Ann Osman - Property Manager for Belvoir Andover said “We’re absolutely delighted to have made it on to this year’s shortlist. We are passionate about the level of service we deliver to our clients and this proves all the hard work the team put in has paid off”.

The Awards are organised by The ESTAS Group Ltd.  www.theestas.com

For more information contact Simon Brown on 01892 610245 at The ESTAs or Greg Greatbatch 01264 366611 at Belvoir Andover